Surf Trip to Central America March-July Help!!!

[petelightning]

Hey everyone. I have been scouring the internet forever trying to find information on where to go on my surf vacation. Seems i am finding too many contradicting points of views and swell seasons as well as a lot of responses to forum questions coming from resort or surf camp employees.
I am of intermediate level so id like some good consistent waves to start off with and hopefully the swell can pick up in May
I really just want to surf everyday all day and like anyone prefer less crowds or getting hassled in the water.
I was thinking of Nicaragua but have come to find the waves might not be decent even until May/ is this the case?
I have also considered starting in Guatemala or El Salvador and then making my way down.??
Please i need any info and experience anyone has had. I dont have long before id like to leave.
Also if anyone can suggest anywhere else in the world at this time that waves are good and crowds are down I am open to going anywhere!!
Thanks!! help me out

[Aqualife]

Hi,
Sounds like you haven't really done any research. Central America has waves all year round. The Caribbean coast stops working in April but the Pacific side has waves all of the time. The rainy season starts in Feb/March in Panama and then works its way up the coast with flooding and impassable roads and dirty river blow outs in June/July. I had some dead cows in the line up in Costa Rica in July.
I think I would start south and then make your way north and stop along the coast. You are intermediate, so the swells in June/July will be too big for you unless you find sheltered bays. It's not very nice traveling around at that time of the year anyway.
Pick a country and go. Best infrastructure hands down (buses, getting around, boards, hostels near breaks) you'll find in Costa Rica and Southern Nicaragua. Less crowds in Panama and El Salvador but also no boards, less transport and more do -it-yourself travel.
If you are asking questions on this forum and haven't got much of a clue, I would recommend Costa Rica, at least you meet others in the same boat. Enjoy.

[petelightning]

I have done research. It just seems that everything i find is contradicting. Every Surf camp or hostel seems to write that they have the best breaks in Central America, that they have the best accommodations and of course the waves are empty.
i;m just looking for a good place to start. i know Nicaragua and central america as a whole has waves year round but was just wondering where an intermediate might find the best waves this time of year.
I am thinking maybe Northern Nicaragua as they are more sheltered from the heavy offshore winds at this time.
Would need board rental or a place to buy a board. Am not looking to go to a surf camp. would rather stay at hostels near beaches and take shuttles if i have to.
want some nice peeling waves to get my sea legs back! haha
thanks for the responses. I am looking for personal experience from anyone out there

thanks!

[jaffa1949]

Central America has waves all year round. The Caribbean coast stops working in April but the Pacific side has waves all of the time. The rainy season starts in Feb/March in Panama and then works its way up the coast with flooding and impassable roads and dirty river blow outs in June/July. I had some dead cows in the line up in Costa Rica in July.
I think I would start south and then make your way north and stop along the coast. You are intermediate, so the swells in June/July will be too big for you unless you find sheltered bays. It's not very nice traveling around at that time of the year anyway.
Pick a country and go. Best infrastructure hands down (buses, getting around, boards, hostels near breaks) you'll find in Costa Rica and Southern Nicaragua. Less crowds in Panama and El Salvador but also no boards, less transport and more do -it-yourself travel.
I would recommend Costa Rica, at least you meet others in the same boat. Enjoy.

I suggest you read the advice Aqualife is giving you she has been to lots of spots around the world and knows her stuff.
Of course all resorts speak in in superlatives, would you go to to a fairly mediocre average wave spot with dreary beaches and barely two star style resort.
So you make it look good!
you can read between the lines.

[Aqualife]

Thanks Jaffa.
I do know Central America pretty well. I went overland from Panama to Mexico by bus with 6 boards. I also volunteered in Costa Rica on a separate trip, spent a long time in Nica and worked in El Salvador.
Pete, Nicaragua has seen an explosion of US- Americans buying coastal land in the past 10 years and then opening surf camps for foreign tourists at U$ prices. Southern Nicaragua gets the overflow tourism and visa extension crowd from Costa Roca and has infrastructure/hostels/board rental and the like and is cheap and accessible.
The main road along the Pacific Coast is INLAND. It is very hard to directly access the coast in a lot of places, as the roads leading to the ocean are on private land and owned by the Surf Camp Owners. If you don't stay at their camps, you don't get access to the beach in a lot of places which is very frustrating.
The buses run along this main road and you won't even see the ocean from there.
You can rent a 4WD which is essential for the unpaved dirt roads and go on a mission and try to access beaches where the land isn't owned by some gringo and surf whatever you can find. It's a lot of driving, a lot of police checks, a lot of cash (if you don't speak Spanish- as the police likes to fleece foreign drivers for all sorts of road offences). It's fun and an adventure but you need surf knowledge and friends to share costs with.
Northern Nicaragua is much more inaccessible, no infrastructure, no board rental/repair as in the South and it is very undeveloped.
You will have to bite the bullet and book a surf camp. They have a monopoly and are expensive.
In the South - area of San Juan del Sur, you can stay in hostels for $10 and walk to the beach and you would be amongst the young backpacker beginner surf crowd. It's mostly beach breaks but still fun.
In the North, you can't do it on your own and will have to fork out U$100 per night or more for a surf camp.
Waves are great along that coast line, the ocean is very dirty in the rainy season.
If you stay in a good surf camp, they will ensure you get in the water every day, as they would drive you to all the protected breaks.
Enjoy.

[surf123]

I would love to go to South America for my next surf trip! Let us know your findings!

[richiespice]

Hello

Costa Rica is a lot of fun, great waves, good swell and nice people. However, yes it has a lot of unpaved streets and the police are a pain in the ass. You should manage them by saying, yes sir i wont do it again or just tell them that you don't speak Spanish and that`s it. Go to Avellanas, Tamarindo, Grande and all the beaches close to Santa Cruz town on Guanacaste. Nicaragua has a lot to offer and is cheaper. Hope you like it!